When 22-year-old Wendy Faith shared a Valentine’s Day kiss with 21-year-old Alesi Diana Denise in Uganda — a country infamous for enforcing some of the world’s strictest anti-LGBTQ laws — the lives of both women were about to take a complicated turn. Faith and Denise, residents of Arua, a commercial hub in the northwest, have been charged with offenses related to homosexuality and indecency, according to a charge sheet obtained by CNN. In the East African nation, like in some others on the continent, being LGBTQ also means being at risk of being jailed. Consensual same-sex relations between adults can lead to life imprisonment in Uganda. A law, implemented in 2023, also carries the death penalty for those found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes sexual acts involving minors, the elderly or disabled people. If Faith and Denise are convicted, they could each receive a sentence of up to seven years in prison. Douglas Mawadri, one of the lawyers representing Faith and Denise, said they were arrested on February 18 and their apartment was searched after a photo of the two kissing surfaced online. The women had been under police surveillance before their arrest, according to Frank Mugisha, who heads Sexual Minorities Uganda, an LGBTQ advocacy group working to secure their release.